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Don’t rely on plankton to save the planet

By Nicola Jones in Hawaii

ENCOURAGING plankton growth in the ocean has been touted by some as a
promising way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Its opponents fear
that it will damage the marine ecosystem, and now a computer model shows that
the trick would also be remarkably inefficient.

Adding iron to patches of ocean can make plankton bloom temporarily. The
microscopic organisms suck up dissolved carbon dioxide from the water, which in
turn is replaced by carbon dioxide from the air. As plankton die and settle on
the ocean floor, their carbon is supposedly locked up in …